Amor Infinitum
by StellaPen
Summary: Another "Satine doesn't die, she finds Christian later and he's mad" fic, but I think my ending is original, for how they finally meet again. Please tell me if you agree! It was kind of inspired by Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, a great book.
1. Ch. 1: Affairs of the Heart

A/N: Hiya guys. I wrote this entire story before I posted any of it, and it's actually only the end that I really care about. So if you think it starts out as just a typical "Satine didn't die, she finds Christian later, he's mad at her" fic, please please please read to the last chapter because I hope my idea there is unique! (I am not trying to rip off other people's stories, this idea has just been floating around in my head for awhile and I had to have a way to arrive at it). Reviews are brilliant (fun word), I really love them. And also, I will be doing a whole bunch of disclaimers at the end of the whole story, so the stuff that is quoted in this and following chapters is not mine and blah blah blah…wait till the last chapter if you really care.  
  
  
Chapter One: Affairs of the Heart  
  
  
  
The storm raged through the night in Paris, tearing apart the Summer of Love. Lights flickered on and off through Monmartre as people finally gave into the darkness and went to sleep. However, one lonely figure sat staring out into the rainfall and the moonlight.  
  
A tear streaked down Satine's face as she heard Christian scream her name and be beaten to the ground by the door guards. He lay on the street, soaking wet and bruised, but she could not go to him. For so many reasons, she could not rush to him and tell him she was sorry and would love him until the end of time, but for so many reasons, she wanted to.  
  
"We all lead such elaborate lives, wild ambitions in our sights. How an affair of the heart survives, days apart and troubled nights…"  
  
Satine stepped away from the window she could not bear to watch him suffer anymore.  
  
"Seems quite unbelievable to me, I don't want to live like that…"  
  
She ran a hand over a draft of "Spectacular, Spectacular", tears coursing freely down her face now. Next to it lay the diamond necklace the Duke had given her. She looked at it in disgust.  
  
"Seems quite unbelievable to me, I don't want to love like that. I just want our time to be slower and gentler, wiser and free."  
  
Satine knew of the dangers to both herself and Christian if she saw him again. She had to stay away from him. But staying away from the only person she cared for was very hard to do. Drying her face, she left for opening night.  
  
~  
Christian lay unmoving on the bed where the doctor had placed him, staring into nothingness, and turning his back on the world. Deep inside him, an unnamable anger was building up.  
  
All they had said, all they had done, had been a lie. Just a game. Satine was a great actress, and had merely used him for practice. He reached for the broken absinthe bottle, falling deeper and deeper into despair. Horrible thoughts ran through his head.  
  
"I gave you my music, made your song take wing…and now, how you've repaid me, denied me and betrayed me…"  
  
Christian thought of the Duke, knowing now that Satine had left him because he could not offer her a lifetime of luxury and money. Apparently a lifetime of love was not good enough.  
  
"He was bound to love you, when first he head you sing…"  
  
Christian suddenly violently jumped up. The pain was too much. This was his show, why shouldn't he see it? And a hidden part of him hat he tried to shut out wanted to see Satine one last time.  
  
He ran to the Moulin Rouge, screaming in the dark night,  
  
"You will curse the things that now you do! No longer will I say that I love you…"  
  
~  
Satine nervously reapplied her makeup and tried to accept the fact that she could not see Christian again. Memories flooded through her head while she prepared to go on stage - "I can't believe it, I'm in love…We could be heroes…You'll come, tonight?…Come what may…The truth is, I am the Hindu courtesan, and I choose the maharajah."  
  
That last one stung the most. They had shared the perfect love. But nothing perfect can last…a single tear fell down Satine's face.  
  
Just as she was about to go onstage, Satine heard a familiar, yet strangely distant voice behind her - "I've come to pay my bill."  
  
She tried to brush him away, and not face the pain. "You shouldn't be here Christian, just go."  
  
Satine then attempted to run past him, but his grip on her shoulders was too strong. She gasped when she was Warner pointing a gun at him. No, this isn't happening, she hoped and prayed.  
  
"Please Christian…just go…"  
  
"If it wasn't real, then why can't I pay you? Let me pay! Let me pay!," he screamed in her face. Christian wondered somewhere in the back of his mind why she was crying if she didn't care. But he was consumed by jealousy. It was driving him mad.  
  
As she tried to pull away, he screamed out of rage, "Tell me it wasn't real! Tell me you don't love me!"  
  
Christian ignored Satine's pleas and nearly dragged her onstage, where he threw her down. Zidler chose to play off this. Suddenly, Satine hated the audience. Hated them for being so naïve as to think this was all just a fairytale. She wished it was.  
  
As she lay there, crying and broken on the stage, she did not hear one word Christian said, except, "I owe you nothing, and you are nothing to me." A statement that would remain heavy in her heart for a long time.  
  
Christian slowly walked away from the only love he had ever known, trying to convince himself he didn't care. He stopped only to pause at the Duke, with a look that said, "You've won."  
  
Satine knew she had to stop him. She could not let something this wonderful slip through her fingers. She began to sing quietly, between her cries,  
  
"Never knew I could feel like this, it's like I've never seen the sky before. Want to vanish inside your kiss, everyday I'm loving you more, and more. Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings, come back to me and forgive everything! Seasons may change, winter to spring…"  
  
Christian had paused by the door. There was complete silence in the theatre, as Satine whispered, "I love you…until the end of time."  
  
A nasty little voice ran through Christian's head. *She doesn't love you, it's all an act, a lie. She's using you in her little game.* In front of the door, Christian slowly turned and sang quietly,   
"You alone can make my song take flight…It's over now, the music of the night."  
  
A stunned audience sat very still as the sound of a slamming door echoed through the Moulin Rouge. The penniless sitar player was cured of his ridiculous obsession with love.  
  
~  
*5 Years Later, Village Near London  
  
Satine ate a hurried breakfast. She was almost late.   
  
"Your audition is in 5 minutes! Hurry, girl!" called Marie from upstairs.  
  
Satine's stomach fluttered. She had never been able to land a real acting job. She really needed this.  
  
Marie grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door. "You cannot be late for this! It is the Royal Court Acting Troupe, Satine!"  
  
"Remember, to everyone else I'm Sara, OK?"  
  
Marie nodded. "You know, it still seems foolish to hide your true identity. I mean, why would anyone care?"  
  
They were sitting in the carriage now. The air was cold, and snow fluttered slowly to the ground. Satine pulled her white fur coat tighter around her.  
  
"I care, Marie. I want to forget my past life, I've told you over and over. There are certain…choices and feelings that no one would want to dwell on again."  
  
Eventually the carriage pulled up to a very old and worn-down acting studio. Satine had no idea what she was auditioning for, but she bravely walked in to give whatever it was a shot.  
  
As she emerged into a huge warehouse-type room with hundreds of aspiring actors and actresses milling around, she was immediately greeted by a short bald man with a heavy Scottish accent.  
  
"Bonjour, Miss." he said. Oh really, thought Satine, only the French can speak it properly.  
  
The man continued. "I am Evan, the casting director and general manager. And you are?"  
  
"Sara…James." The last name was still hard for her to speak.  
  
"Oh, right. Well you're actually first on our list Miss James, but I need to ask you just a few questions first. What previous experience have you had?"  
  
Satine knew she had to be careful here. The words "Moulin Rouge" were a deathtrap. "Umm…just some local productions back in Paris."  
  
"Ahh, so you're from Paris," he nodded knowingly. He had probably guessed. "How long have you been here?"  
  
"About five years now." Actually, Satine had counted the days.  
  
"Can you sing?"  
  
She nodded. "No formal training, but I have sung in performances."  
  
Evan nodded. "Well, let's get you started. Here's your script. Cal, get over here!"  
  
A taller man with short black hair and a white tuxedo with sequins came over. Evan raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Just getting into character," Cal grinned.  
  
Evan turned to Satine. "In this scene, you're both hurt, because you had true love and now it's gone. Umm, let's see, oh yeah, Miss James, you still love him, but for complicated reasons you can't tell him, K? And…action!"  
  
Cal ran stage left, shouting, "Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love!"  
  
Satine felt sick while looking down at the script in horror. "Sitar player leaves the kingdom," she read to herself. No, she had to do this. She needed this job. But she just couldn't do what the script said. That was not how the story should have ended. She slowly dropped the script to the floor and began to sing familiar words.  
  
The room was in silence, as no one had expected what she did. Evan started clapping. "Bravo, maybe we can take some poetic license and put that in the show. That is, if our writer here agrees?" He nudged the man to his left.  
  
Satine felt that she would faint as the ghost from her past slowly rose. "No," Christian said, keeping his voice calm. "The story ends the way I wrote it. The courtesan hurts the sitar player. The perfect couple is destroyed, and he leaves forever." 


	2. Ch. 2: A Secret Chord

Chapter Two: A Secret Chord  
  
  
  
Satine had left the studio and was waiting on a bench in the cold air. Nighttime was beginning to fall, and as the sun set the snow made the street sparkle.  
  
Her thoughts kept sadly drifting back to Christian. For five years she had tried to forget him and to forget what love was like, but for five years she had secretly missed him.  
  
"Love, it seems like only yesterday, you were just a child at play, now you're all grown up inside of me, oh how fast those moments flee…"  
  
A strong hand grabbed her shoulder roughly, making her gasp. "I see you've taken my last name," snarled Christian. "What? Just to spite me more?"  
  
Satine shook her head, feeling tears spring to her eyes. "No! I wish that really were my last name, Christian, I - "  
  
"Get away from me, Satine. You have been dead to me for five years. Stay out of my life," he glared at her.  
  
Before Christian could turn and run however, another man approached them and kissed Satine on the cheek. He shook Christian's hand.  
  
"I'm Richard Burroughs. Looks like you know my fiancée, Sara?" He smiled happily at them.  
  
Christian's smile, however, was mocking. He said while he gazed into Satine's eyes. "Yes, I'm sure you two are perfect for each other. You look to be very, very in love."  
  
He lingered on the last word for a moment, while his and Satine's eyes met. He then ran off quickly into the night.  
  
"Once we watched a lazy world go by, now the days seem to fly. Life is brief, but when it's gone, love goes on and on."   
  
~  
Christian entered his small, dark apartment, not bothering to change before he fell down on the bed. He stared out the window up into the stars. All he could think of was her. Was she thinking about him? Did she even care anymore?  
  
Christian's life had become a mess in the last five years. He had gone through too many absinthe bottles to count. And he refused to allow himself to come anywhere close to falling in love again. He knew the consequences. His only job was occasionally writing poetry and helping to direct passing performances of "Spectacular, Spectacular". Each one brought back painful memories. Christian knew that a relationship between him and Satine would never work, and he knew he could not trust her.  
  
How he hated her. Hated her for making him believe it was real and then turning out to be another courtesan who did her job so very, very well. Hated himself for still loving her through all of this.  
  
He lit a candle quickly by his bed and pulled out a poem he had been reading, part of the script for a new play that was scheduled to start touring England soon:  
  
"Ask every person if he's heard the story, and tell it load and clear if he has not, that once there was a fleeting wisp of glory, called Camelot. Where once it never rained till after sundown, by eight the morning fog had disappeared. Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."  
  
Once, long ago, Christian and Satine had shared a fleeting wisp of glory. But that was over now, and he would never go back to it.  
  
~  
Seasons changed, winter became spring. The small hillside seemed to become brighter as everyone awaited opening night, while beautiful flowers bloomed outside.   
  
Harold had come back, and he, Marie, and Satine would often go to have picnics underneath the tall shady trees. On days when it rained, Satine still had fun in doors with her fellow cast members.  
  
But she and Cal usually did not get along. Many times he would make comments to her like, "'Above all things I believe in love'? What kind of man says that? Bad writing if you ask me."  
  
Satine would always just ignore these comments, not wishing to start an argument. Unfortunately, Christian would often overhear her and assume that she agreed. Fortunately, however, Christian and Satine managed to keep their distance from each other, or else the play probably would not have gone as smoothly as it did. He stuck to his friends, she to hers.  
  
At night, Christian returned to his small apartment where he lived all alone. Sometimes he visited his father, but his father never visited him. Their relationship was not a good one. Each of these nights that he went home alone, he fell deeper into despair. Just being around Satine again was…intoxicating, and torture at the same time. He could not let go of his anger for what happened five years ago. And now she was engaged again, probably only to toy with another man's emotions and eventually leave him.   
  
Some nights Christian would sit out on his balcony, writing by candlelight. He found that writing was his only escape. It helped him to calm his feelings. Although whenever he looked at the wall next to his balcony, he kept expecting to see the huge red "L'amour" sign, a reminder that love conquers all. It was gone now as well.  
  
One night, he caught sight of Satine and Richard through their window. They were laughing and flirting together happily. Christian felt his stomach lurch and his eyes begin to water. He turned and ran inside. One last look back revealed that once Richard had left, Satine's face was full of grief. Christian did not pause to think on this, and instead went straight for the absinthe, a now very familiar habit of his.  
  
Later that night, after sobbing himself to sleep, Christian's dreams were restless and haunting. The same figure kept showing up. This was a short man with a face painted white. He spoke and acted like a ghost. In every dream, this ghost whispered, "Truth", and proceeded to sing,   
  
"The cowboy kills the rockstar, and Friday night's gone too far, the dim light hides the years on all the faded girls. You drink it off your mind. You talk about the world like it's someplace that you've been, you see you'd love to run home, but you know you ain't got no one, cause you're living in a world that you're best forgotten round here…Broadway is dark tonight. See the young man sitting in the old man's bar, waiting for his turn to die."  
  
And then every morning Christian woke up and went to work, and had to face Satine again. Had to hide the pain he was in.  
  
~  
Satine woke up in the middle of the night, shaking and cold even though it was summer. What a dream. The same pale ghostly figure she saw in her mind every night had visited her again. All she remembered from what he told her was, "A life lived in fear is a life have lived." That, and that for one brief shining moment, she had been happy.  
  
She could not sleep, and kept turning over, feeling restless. She went out on her balcony, and sat down to stare at the stars. This had been one of the few summers in England without a lot of rain, and Satine was glad for it. A single firefly floated around her head, the only illumination other than the moon and the stars.   
  
As Satine gazed out at the small street and surrounding buildings, she saw that Christian was sitting on his balcony as well, writing. She had watched him many nights. She missed the days when she had helped him write, amidst laughed and jokes. A tear fell down her face. Satine missed their love, and wanted him back so much. But it seemed that he had moved on from her, as she had tried unsuccessfully to do for him.  
  
Suddenly, a violinist appeared on the street below, serenading Satine and Christian to a song they both knew well. Christian glanced up quickly and met Satine's eyes. However, she was no anger in them as usual.  
  
"Maybe there's a God above, and all I ever learned from love, was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you."  
  
The two had not left each other's gaze.  
  
"It's not a cry you can hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah."   
  
As the song came to a close, Satine and Christian went inside, both silently crying.  
  
"Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah…"  
  
  
A/N: OK, sorry, I know this was a whole bunch of soap-opera mush. I needed it to move the story along though. 


	3. Ch. 3: The Lovers Are Reunited

Chapter Three: The Lovers Are Reunited  
  
  
  
Satine was trying to figure out ways to pass time with Richard. There was the usual small talk - the play, the weather. But she wasn't in love with him. She never had been, and now she could not keep her mind off Christian.   
  
But he hated her. How could she ever win him back? Marie and Harold could often see the pain behind her eyes, and would counsel her about it, most of the time with conflicting views.  
  
Harold would usually offer something like, "You've got the better future with Richard, chickpea. You and Christian have grown too far apart."  
  
While Marie would always say, "No, dearie, it is obvious to all that you and Christian are meant for each other."   
  
For her birthday, Richard bought Satine a beautiful diamond necklace. It truly was lovely, and she did not wish to hurt Richard, but it brought back to many memories. When he presented it to her she left abruptly, saying she needed a walk. That walk led her straight to Christian's apartment, where she sat outside below, going over things in her mind.  
  
Suddenly, there was a voice, almost a whisper, behind her. "You're out at an odd hour."  
  
Satine managed to turn her head slightly towards Christian. "I needed some time out of the house."  
  
"Away from Richard?" he asked not looking at her.  
  
Satine sighed. Actually, this conversation was good compared to most of the others they had shared. "Christian, listen, about him - "  
  
"No, Satine. I don't want to hear it."  
  
She quickly grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her. "Christian, I love you and I want you back."  
  
He lowered his eyes and slowly shook his head. "It won't work. We won't work."  
  
Satine's started to sing softly to him,  
  
"I am still enchanted by the light you brought to me, I listen through your ears, through your eyes I can see…"  
  
He met her eyes. "Stop it, Satine. It's over. We were over five years ago. I've considered you dead since then."  
  
She just smiled at him. "I think I've been dying a little each day since you came back into my life." When she got no response, she continued singing:  
  
"Oh love, look at you now, you've got yourself stuck in a moment, and you can't get out of it…"  
  
This time he was firm. "No. I don't know what to believe, or If I can trust you, Satine."  
  
He pulled her close, into a soft embrace. Satine was crying silently into his neck when he said, "Where love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there is no love…a lesson I learned once, from an old friend."  
  
"No Christian," she sobbed into his shoulder.  
  
Christian let go of her and slowly walked away. "Goodbye, Satine," he whispered, with tears in his eyes.  
  
~  
Over the next few moths, the entire company of "Spectacular, Spectacular" was in a state of complete chaos. As opening night approached, everything had to be perfected. Many of the dancers still didn't have the choreography right, and Cal could not sing parts of certain songs in key, mostly because he didn't care. Evan was going crazy, constantly running to everyone and giving them orders. Satine seemed to be the only one who knew what she was doing. However, Evan still found things to yell at her about.  
  
"No! Sara, you're supposed to be much farther downstage there! Alright, fine. Dancers break for notes. The rest of you be back in twenty minutes! No later!"  
  
Satine ran off stage to go meet Marie, who came to visit her everyday. "Any word yet?" she asked, out of breath.  
  
"No, love. You know, I don't think you should get your hopes up. It's been almost half a year now - "  
  
"No, Marie! I will not lose all hope just like that! I have to see him again, he's all I've got."  
  
"Well, you've got Richard. You two are to be married in a month, so - "  
  
"I haven't got Richard, Marie!" she said suddenly. "In the past few months, we've become distant from each other. I really don't want to hurt him, he's a very nice man, but I think he knows my heart is elsewhere. I can't help feeling that I'm just terrible at love."  
  
Marie tried to calm her, but Satine cut her off. She needed to be alone. What with opening night and the wedding, there was a lot on her mind. But more importantly, she was finding it harder and harder to live without Christian. Six months ago he had mysteriously taken a train out of London and she had not seen him since. Everyday she asked if he had written to her. Everyday she was disappointed.  
  
"Our memories, they can be inviting, but some are altogether mighty frightening."  
  
Satine feared that Christian had left without ever knowing she truly loved him. A part of her also feared that he did not her in return, and she had broken the spirit of what used to be an enthusiastic, love-sick poet. He had seemed almost scared of her. She was never sure if what she saw in his face was anger or fear.  
  
"As we die, both you and I, with my head in my hands, I sit and cry…"  
  
Satine's musings were interrupted when Evan screamed, "Cast, places for the 'Will the lovers be meeting in the sitar player's humble abode' scene! I mean NOW! Miss Sara, come on!"  
  
Satine felt exhausted as she headed towards the stage. In the back of her mind, she wished Christian would be there to see her opening night. Would he have been proud?  
  
"It's all ending, I gotta stop pretending who we are, you and me, I can see us dying…are we?"  
  
  
A/N I know, I know very short. 


	4. Ch. 4: Heart Don't Fail Me Now

Chapter Four: Heart, Don't Fail Me Now  
  
  
  
Satine glared at Richard in surprise. This was opening night, how could he do this to her? She was already so stressed out anyways.  
  
"Look, Sara, I'm sorry. I just don't think your heart is in it anymore. Every time I'm near you I can sense it."  
  
"Richard, I can't take this! Not now, for sure! We have to go through with it, please…"  
  
"Sara, you're not ready to be married. I'm sorry you don't realize it, but I'm doing this for your own sake. The wedding is off."  
  
Richard walked out of Satine's house, and out of her life. That was two men to have done that so far. How many more will there be, Satine asked herself. She put her face in her hands. "Sacre bleu, what am I doing wrong?" she whispered.  
  
But Richard had been right. Her heart wasn't in it. She didn't love him. And she was already living a big enough lie anyways. Hiding her French accent was hard enough. Not being to tell anyone about her past was terrible. Most of all, she hated going by "Sara". True, she disliked the name "Satine" as well since it represented so much of her earlier life, but at least it was real.  
  
All these thoughts rushed through Satine's head at once. She was suddenly afraid she would forget all her lines and the play would be off to a horrible start.   
  
When Satine received her mail for the week, one letter stood out to her in particular. It was an invite to a theatre mask party/convention, the day after opening night, to celebrate the hard work no matter how bad or good the production went. Satine decided she may as well go; she had been having absolutely no fun recently and seriously needed some time to relax. Besides, she needed to stop being so depressed.  
  
With the way her life was at the moment though, being happy was hard. She still tried to live by the Boho dogmas of Freedom, Beauty, Truth, and Love, but no one ever mentioned Fear.  
  
~  
Opening night had gone surprisingly well. Satine had remembered all her lines, and Marie and Harold were even there to support her. Evan had actually given out a few compliments to the cast.   
  
Cal, however, was still a nuisance to everyone, and ended up getting in a fight backstage. "This ending's silly," he had said. "Why would the courtesan go for the penniless sitar player, over the maharajah, who is offering a lifetime of security? That's real love." This had provoked a punch from the strange and somewhat crazy man playing the Magical Sitar.   
  
Except for that one incident, all in all the show had gone splendidly. The audience had hassled Satine for her autograph afterwards, but she got away from the mobs, fortunately. This was the first time in years she had actually been happy, and she really just wanted to go home and sleep.   
  
That was not to be the case, however. Marie and Harold greeted her at the door to her house, while Harold pulled her into a huge embrace, screaming, "My little strawberry, everything went so well! You've become a real actress!"  
  
Marie just smiled knowingly at her and treated her to some delicious deserts in the kitchen. Satine fell asleep that night, feeling, in a word, renewed. Harold was right, she really was a step closer to becoming the next Sara Bernhart. But secretly, she knew there was still something missing…  
  
  
A/N: OK, sorry that this was super short, but it was the best break I could find in the story, since I've already written all of it. 


	5. Ch. 5: The World Can Never See You

Chapter Five: The World Can Never See You  
  
  
  
Satine quickly got dressed and read to leave for the mask party the next day. She had chosen a beautiful golden mask and a shining silver dress to go with it. She had even died her hair a golden blonde. This all reminded her of her days as the Sparkling Diamond, something she had tried to forget, but apparently could never leave behind. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" kept playing through her head.  
  
Satine stared out of the carriage to the cloudy English hillside, with beautiful autumn leaves falling everywhere. "Seasons may change," she thought nostalgically.  
  
Marie and Harold had already left. Everything was supposed to be anonymous, so she could not see their masks.  
  
When the carriage came to a stop, Satine stared up in awe. The party was being held in the ballroom of an old palace, and just the exterior itself was beautiful. It was not a large palace, but the stone carvings that surrounded it were magnificent. Satine was greeted before she had even reached the huge oak doors covered in vines.   
  
She was led into the atrium, where food and drinks were handed out and mysterious figures talked quietly to one another. Instantly as she entered she could hear a faint female voice singing somewhere in the background:  
  
"Masquerade! Seething shadows, breathing lies…Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you!"  
  
But the ballroom was the most amazing part. The floor was covered in shining white tile, and tall marble columns rose to the ceiling. Early Renaissance paintings covered the walls. Satine was noting how different England was from Monmartre when she realized she looked rather strange standing by herself in the middle of many couples dancing. She sat down on the sidelines next to a man in a blue suit, somewhat shorter than her. He wore a mask that was completely black, matching his dark hair.  
  
He turned to her. "Bonjour, miss," he said politely, with mixed British and French accents. The voice gave Satine a strange feeling of de ja vu.  
  
Satine realized the usual small talk would be pointless, as they were supposed to keep their identities hidden from one another. "Well, good sir, we are both sitting here with nothing better to do. May I have this dance?"  
  
He nodded, and Satine sensed he was smiling. They danced for the next few songs, with Satine taking the lead. She used some of the can-can steps she knew from the Moulin Rouge. Her mysterious partner added a few of his own crowd-pleasing steps, ignoring the 'strictly ballroom' dance that all these other professionals seemed to be doing, and getting a few strange looks. Satine didn't care if they looked out of place, they were having fun.  
  
They talked a little, but not about anything that would reveal who they were. Everyone was supposed to remove their masks anyway at midnight.   
  
Satine's mind was wondering. The feeling of being in his arms was familiar, almost like something out of a dream. And the way they danced together…she couldn't quite place it.  
  
At the end of a fast bolero dance, her partner in the dark mask said, "I'm sorry miss, but I'm growing a little tired. I've only just learned to dance properly anyways. Would you mind if I step away for a bit?"  
  
Satine shook her head. "I'll come with you," she said.  
  
He took her hand and led her out to a quiet balcony. The air was cold, and the moon was full and beautiful. Its reflection sparkled on the lake beneath them. That mystifying song was still playing from somewhere distant:  
  
"Masquerade! Leering satyrs, peering eyes…Masquerade! Run and hide - but a face will still pursue you!"  
  
Suddenly Satine's strange new suitor spoke oddly. "Nights like this always bring back sad memories, from years ago. I danced with…someone under the stars, and the moon itself seemed to sing. She is gone now."  
  
Satine was looking at him strangely, so he quickly sighed and turned his head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that, I - it just…came out."  
  
They shared a few more moments together, talking softly. Each time she heard his voice, Satine was reminded of a line from a play she had once read, from a similar meeting on a balcony: "My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound." This stranger was almost too familiar to her.  
  
Right before the clock struck twelve in the distance, the man began to cough profusely, catching Satine off guard. He quickly turned his head and lifted his mask to cover his mouth, hiding his hand from view. Satine tried to help him, but then suddenly midnight was upon them, and he pushed her into the huge mass of people heading into the ballroom for the unmasking, and she lost sight of him. Even Satine was surprised that she felt a tear drip down her face at the thought of never knowing who this new friend truly was.  
  
As she ran to the ballroom, following all the eager people around her, Satine gasped and then laughed silently at herself for not expecting what she saw. Harold Zidler was standing on the stage, the first to take his mask off. He was making some sort of announcement, but she couldn't hear him. Of course he was involved in this, Satine should have known. He was always behind everything and always got his way. Suddenly he was pointing at her though.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted in his over-the-top, exaggerated voice he used for show. "Please welcome my good friend, who's been almost like a daughter to me in the past few years, and the star of "Spectacular, Spectacular", twice actually, Miss Satine!" She noticed he didn't add "James."  
  
Satine went to the stage and, curtsying, removed her mask. The other guests went wild. Apparently Harold was even more in charge than she thought and they would have to wait to remove their masks.  
  
"Mon cherie," he boomed at her, "Will you grace us with the pleasure of a speech? How about a story?" He smiled at her.  
  
Satine was about to tell the story of "Spectacular, Spectacular" for anyone who had not seen it, but she thought of something much more interesting. Why not tell the real story? She had been ready to face it for a long time now anyway, and decided it was finally time to let others know.  
  
Satine started by describing her life back in Monmartre and job at the Moulin Rouge, not caring if they all knew now she was a courtesan. She was enjoying herself, and continued happily. When she got to the part of her life that Christian had been in, she found she had trouble thinking of words to describe their story. But she told it anyway. Some of the audience was actually crying by the end.  
  
"He had always said," Satine said, surprised at herself for still smiling, "that love overcomes all obstacles. I know now just how true that is. I don't know where he is, and I don't expect to ever see him again, but I still love Christian. I guess I'm trying to say that, no matter what happens or however bad things get, hold on to what you've got and treasure it forever, because you never know when suddenly it won't be there anymore." She paused.  
  
"But strangely, I am happy now. I still miss him, but I think I've finally moved on. Umm…there was a song though, one song I will never forget. He wrote it for us, and I…well, like I said, I'll never forget it."  
  
Satine began to sing "Come What May", loudly and even a little off key. But she didn't care. It felt good. And for the first time in what seemed like ages, she knew what she was doing was right.  
  
As Satine was just about to belt out the "Telling me to give you everything" line, someone else took over. Strangely, Satine was not surprised to see the man she had danced with stand up and remove his dark mask. Somehow, she had known. She had known…all along.   
  
"Come back to me and forgive everything!" Christian nearly screamed, grinning wildly, and running up to the stage.  
  
She smiled back blissfully, thinking, *this should have happened six years ago*. Satine joined her voice with Christian, to finish the song:  
  
"Seasons may change, winter to spring, but I love you…until the end of time!"  
  
However, after this line, Christian surprised everyone by breaking into another song, one that Satine had never heard but understood the meaning of very well:  
  
"And that's all the time it takes, for a heart to turn to stone. The sweeter the wine, the harder to bake the cake. You hear something about someone you thought you'd known. So baby don't cry like there's no tomorrow. After the night there's a brand new day, and there'll sure be no pain, and no more sorrow. So wash your face, and phone my place, it'll be OK. And that's all the time that it takes, for a heart to beat again. So give me a sign that a lover makes, you look around…the one you found is back again."  
  
  
A/N: One more chapter left! Something dramatic is gonna happen at the very end, I promise… 


	6. Ch. 6: Every Story is a Love Story

Chapter Six: Every Story Is A Love Story  
  
  
  
Satine could not stop herself from hugging him and for some reason laughing hysterically. He just kept smiling and whispered, "I'm back to stay, I promise."  
  
She turned to their audience, saying, "My penniless poet that I just told you about, everyone!"  
  
Harold came on the stage congratulating both of them. "I knew it would work," he winked. Satine and Christian stared back in confusion, still holding hands.  
  
Harold continued. "You didn't think I could let you two stay apart forever, did you? Come now! But of course, I couldn't do it on my own, my darlings. I had help…"  
  
Harold looked to the crowd, and a short man in a white mask stood and hobbled to the stage so he could be seen. Satine and Christian both recognized the face…they had seen it before, but neither remembered where.  
  
The man removed the mask, revealing a familiar face. Satine and Christian gasped at the pleasant surprise. He was wearing his Magical Sitar makeup, and still speaking in that strange combination of languages and accents:  
  
"Henry Raymond Toulouse Latrec Montfa, a votre service, mademoiselle e monsieur!" Toulouse bowed to them, his top hat falling off.  
  
Satine and Christian laughed and shook his hand. "Still at it?" Christian asked. "And I thought you were an artist, not a matchmaker. I should know by now."  
  
Toulouse still had that crazy grin on his face, switching languages once more. "Amor est artem. Viva est brevis, ars est longus…amor infinitum!"   
  
Christian, being a poet himself, had read enough of the classics like Cicero and Virgil to know what Toulouse had said. He translated roughly for everyone else. "I believe he said," putting an arm around Satine, "that 'Love is art. Life is short, art is long…love is forever!' Or something like that. But close enough," he added, laughing softly.  
  
Harold whispered to the two of them, moving back onstage, "I'll let you two lovebirds get reacquainted, go on!" He shoed them away, turning again to the audience and yelling, "Everyone take off your masks…now!"  
  
As Christian pulled Satine away, she looked back and thought she could see old familiar faces waving at her - Satie, the Argentinean, the doctor, Chocolate, and - was that…even Audrey! But Christian gave her no time to think, still moving her outside, until they had arrived at the balcony they had sat on just a few moments ago.  
  
He pointed out at the lake and the moon. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, the smile beginning to fade from his face. Satine decided to let him talk, since he obviously had some purpose in mind. She kept silent as he turned to face her.  
  
"Satine, I…I am so sorry for the way I've acted towards you recently. I've not been myself in the past few years, I guess because I couldn't stand the thought of living without you. Anger and depression was my way of dealing with it. Is the offer to come back to you still open?" he questioned, smiling sadly.  
  
Satine rested her head on his shoulder. "It will always be open, Christian, if you will take it."  
  
He suddenly started, looking like he was about to speak, then averted his eyes from her. "Are…are you still engaged?"  
  
She shook her head and pulled him closer, forcing him to look up at her once again. "He left me Christian. I think he could tell my heart was still yours…" she trailed off when he kissed her. It was the kiss they had both been waiting for for a long, long time.   
  
He knelt in front of her, pulling a small box out of his coat. "Then I guess I will take this opportunity to get rid of this, which I'm kind of tired of carrying around," he said, smiling. "Mademoiselle Satine, will you marry me?"  
  
She knelt beside him as he slid the ring onto her finger. "Oui, monsieur." She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Do you even have to ask?"  
  
He pulled her back to her feet, and they stood at the edge of the balcony, gazing out over the lake and the meadow below. Neither noticed or cared how cold the air was.  
  
"Then I must tell you, Satine, I - " but Christian could not finish his statement as he began to cough and wheeze heavily, gasping for breathe. Satine panicked, grabbing him and asking if he was alright. She felt her eyes begin to water. As Christian turned around he tried to hide his hands, but Satine had seen the blood.  
  
She took a step back in horror. "Oh God…no Christian…" He steadied her, taking firm hold of her shoulders.   
  
"Shh, calm down Satine. I'll be alright. I promised, didn't I?" his grin was somewhat sad, and seeing her crying was making tears spring to his eyes. "Look, you survived this. You told me years ago you had consumption, but you're here now, so that must be a sign, right? If you fought it, I certainly will too."  
  
He was hugging her, and she was trying not to cry anymore. "We're to be married. Married, Satine. These next years should be the happiest in our lives, so we'll do the best we can, alright?" He placed his hand under her chin and brought her face up to meet his. "Alright?"  
  
She nodded, sniffing and wiping her eyes. Trying to smile, she said, "Someone once told me that 'A life lived in fear is a life half lived.' I think I know what he meant now. You're right. We will be happy, and we'll fight this together." She kissed his cheek, feeling her stomach begin to hurt from grief, but hiding it from Christian.  
  
He suddenly took her hand. "Hey, let's get out of here," he said. "We'll run away together, and actually leave this time." He had swung one leg over the rail of the balcony and was beckoning Satine into his arms.   
  
"Umm…Christian," she asked slowly. "Isn't the door easier?"  
  
"But this is much more fun!" He held her around the waste and slowly climbed down, jumping to the ground.  
  
They walked off into the distance together, holding hands in the moonlight. Neither spoke, but Satine watched Christian for a long time. She knew that the survival rate for consumption was very low, but she was determined not to destroy his enthusiasm. His spirit and joy was beautiful, and Satine decided it was better to share in such optimistic beliefs than to dispel all hope of a future together. She pulled him closer to him for warmth, leaving her sad memories behind in the palace.  
  
"And their story, and my journey, and the lesson they provide, draw their strength and inspiration, from a love that never dies…"  
  
  
  
  
A/N: So, please tell me, was it good? I hope??!! Here is my first disclaimer: Christian is mine. I claim him, I own him. Haha. I just really wanted to say that.  
  
But seriously, just so I don't get sued (like I would):  
  
I am not Baz Luhrman or 20th Century Fox, so I don't own any of them (Except I really do keep Christian in a box in my closet). Or the songs:  
  
"Elaborate Lives" and "Every Story is Love Story Reprise" from Disney's Aida  
"All I Ask of You", "Music of the Night", and "Masquerade" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera  
"Come What May" from GUESS  
"Love" from Disney's Robin Hood  
"Camelot Reprise" from Lerner and Lowe's Camelot (this was kinda randomly stuck in there, but I thought the mood fit)  
"Broadway is Dark Tonight" by the Goo-Goo Dolls  
"Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright  
"Stuck in a Moment" by U2  
"Don't Speak" by No Doubt  
"Once in Awhile" from 20th Century Fox's The Rocky Horror Picture Show  
  
I also indirectly quoted/paraphrased/referenced/was inspired by/maybe actually quoted the following:  
  
Star Wars: Episodes 2, 5, and 6 by George Lucas and his empire, and 20th Century Fox  
Anastasia by some other people over at 20th Century Fox  
Strictly Ballroom by that genius BAZ and Miramax  
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine  
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare  
And of course, the best movie ever, MOULIN ROUGE (Baz still gets the credit) 


End file.
